Day 12 - Part 2: Gondolas and Graceland. UPDATED!
While I was out putting the pedal to the metal, Nic and Josh took in some alternate sites of Vegas.
I'm told the Venetian was a highlight, where they took a Gondola ride.
They also paid a visit to the Mirage, where Josh came face to face with all kinds of live wildlife kept in the casino - lions, tigers, leopards to name but a few.
Of course no trip to Vegas would be complete without some shopping on the side.
We all met back at the hotel in the afternoon. After a lazy hour or so by the pool, it was time to get ready for the big event - having Elvis renew our vows at the Graceland Chapel.
At 6pm a courtesy stretch limo came to collect us. What seemed to be the entire Elvis back catalogue playing inside the limo set the mood.
When we arrived at the chapel, we got the formalities out the way in the front office/waiting area including Josh signing the certificate as our witness.
Then the chapel doors opened and there before us was the King! (or at least a very good impersonator).
Put it this way, he was more like late 60's Comeback Special Elvis, than the late 70's Fat Jumpsuit version - in any case he was very good at his trade!
Elvis walked Nic down the isle, delivered the service, sang a couple of songs and had Josh captivated the whole time.
After the service, he and the photographer took us through a variety of happy snaps (nobody else allowed to take photos inside the chapel - can't have any 'Elvis is alive' photos surfacing in the tabloids can we).
In all seriousness though, while we originally wanted something tacky for a laugh, the people at this chapel from the front office to the King himself were great and really took care of us. I can see why they get the reviews that they do.
The whole event was filmed, so we'll pass on the website details where you can watch it and see some of the photos from when they upload them. We watched the DVD last night when we got back to the hotel - it's a laugh!
The courtesy limo then took us back to the strip, where we had our 'reception' at the Sugar Factory in the Paris Casino.
Then it was a stroll (past more shops) back to the hotel to finish what was a big day.
Bigger than the Grand Canyon?
We'll find that out tomorrow!
--- UPDATE ---
To view wedding go to:
http://www.gracelandchapel.com/weddings/
Down the bottom of the page, enter the date 10/18/2012 and hit enter. Next page that appears click 'view' next to our names. (Flash Player required)
Enjoy!